At the last meeting of the Cross-party Group on Chronic Pain discussed support for chronic pain patients’ equal rights to access through the NHS, if they wish, at least the Complementary and Alternative Therapies (CAM) recommended by the SIGN guideline on chronic pain management and related findings in the GRIPS Reports. This proposal was unanimously supported and those issues will be discussed as the first item at our next meeting on Tuesday, 24th Feb 2015

Are chronic pain patients who want CAM treatments getting fair access on the NHS? The CPG agreed to members’ requests to discuss this following claims that access was not equal, despite some CAM treatments being approved by the SIGN guidelines on Chronic Pain.

If you are a journalist with an interest in health, complementary and alternative medicine, patients rights and health equality, please get in touch with me for details on

“Persons living with chronic pain have often been grouped into a single category, and treatment approaches have been generalized with little evidence to support this practice,” said Dr. David B. Reuben, panel chair and professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Chronic pain spans a multitude of conditions, presents in different ways, and requires an individualized, multifaceted approach.”

It is known that infections and other types of stressors are capable of triggering the development of FM. We hypothesize that these stressors could be responsible for triggering a reactivation of latent herpesviruses, and that this reactivation could in turn lead to the central nervous system dysregulation seen in this condition. The present study was designed to evaluate an anti-viral drug combination selected for activity against herpes class viruses.

A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found, for the first time, evidence of neuroinflammation in key regions of the brains of patients with chronic pain. By showing that levels of an inflammation-linked protein are elevated in regions known to be involved in the transmission of pain, the study published online in the journal Brain paves the way for the exploration of potential new treatment strategies and identifies a possible way around one of the most frustrating limitations in the study and treatment of chronic pain – the lack of an objective way to measure the presence or intensity of pain.

]]>https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/imaging-study-finds-first-evidence-of-neuroinflammation-in-brains-of-chronic-pain-patients/feed/0intlifepainImaging study finds first evidence of neuroinflammation in brains of chronic pain patientsExperience of pain relies on multiple brain pathways, not just onehttps://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/experience-of-pain-relies-on-multiple-brain-pathways-not-just-one/
https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/experience-of-pain-relies-on-multiple-brain-pathways-not-just-one/#respondFri, 16 Jan 2015 11:20:15 +0000http://intlifepain.wordpress.com/?p=142A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder finds that when we use our thoughts to dull or enhance our experience of pain, the physical pain signal in the brain—sent by nerves in the area of a wound, for example, and encoded in multiple regions in the cerebrum—does not actually change. Instead the act of using thoughts to modulate pain, a technique called “cognitive self-regulation” that is commonly used to manage chronic pain, works via a separate pathway in the brain.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS Biology this month, show that the processing of pain in our brains goes beyond the mere physical pain signal and underscore a growing understanding among neuroscientists that there is not a single pain system in the brain, as was once believed.

A new “trick” steroids use to suppress inflammation, which could be used to make new anti-inflammatory drugs without the harmful side effects of steroids, has been discovered by researchers at Georgia State University.

Their findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

]]>https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/study-suggests-certain-noncancer-pain-conditions-associated-with-increased-risk-of-suicide/feed/0intlifepainToo frequent use of painkillers can cause rather than cure headaches | BMJ – will Scotland agree?https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/is-the-scottish-government-going-to-disregard-the-latest-nice-headache-guidelines/
https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/is-the-scottish-government-going-to-disregard-the-latest-nice-headache-guidelines/#respondSat, 22 Sep 2012 08:53:16 +0000http://intlifepain.wordpress.com/?p=109 “NICE advises the NHS to be alert to the possibility of drug induced headaches in patients whose headache developed or worsened while they were taking triptans, opioids, ergots, and combination analgesic treatments for 10 days a month or paracetamol, aspirin, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen either alone or in combination for15 or more days a month. Drug induced headaches are five times as common in women as in men.”

With regards to the Scottish Government’s stance that NICE guidelines need to be re-evaluated by SIGN in Scotland (when justifying not accepting NICE guidelines for non-specific lower back pain*) – is the Government going to disregard the latest NICE headache-related guidelines until they can be re-assessed in a few years time? Or is this decision selective? * “NHS QIS have established a Scottish Chronic Pain Steering Group to take forward recommendations in the Getting to GRIPS Report. Part of this work will be to develop a SIGN guideline on aspects of chronic pain management. NICE Clinical Guidelines have no formal status in Scotland” Shona Robison 11/March/2011 (http://bit.ly/CAMNHS-NICEGuideRobKerr)

]]>https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/is-the-scottish-government-going-to-disregard-the-latest-nice-headache-guidelines/feed/0intlifepainPain reduction doesn’t (always) reduce disabilityhttps://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/pain-reduction-doesnt-always-reduce-disability/
https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/pain-reduction-doesnt-always-reduce-disability/#respondSat, 18 Feb 2012 21:45:49 +0000http://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/pain-reduction-doesnt-always-reduce-disability/HealthSkills Blog: The relationship between pain and disability is a particularly vexing one in primary care. It would be great if it was possible to get rid of pain and be assured that any lingering effects on function would be similarly abolished, but it just doesn’t seem to be quite that simple.…]]>

The relationship between pain and disability is a particularly vexing one in primary care. It would be great if it was possible to get rid of pain and be assured that any lingering effects on function would be similarly abolished, but it just doesn’t seem to be quite that simple.

Many different approaches to managing this situation have been suggested. One is to argue that people should be referred for a quick pain reduction injection – for those who have pain that is thought to respond to this approach. Another is to just “reassure” and review often. And still another is to provide a cognitive behavioural approach usually reserved for those referred to a secondary or tertiary treatment centre.

For several reasons I find the first and second options above not particularly satisfying.

For the avoidance of doubt, I want to make sure readers are aware that I am not…

]]>https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/pain-reduction-doesnt-always-reduce-disability/feed/0intlifepainGratitude when you’re in pain? You’ve got to be kidding!https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/gratitude-when-youre-in-pain-youve-got-to-be-kidding/
https://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/gratitude-when-youre-in-pain-youve-got-to-be-kidding/#respondSat, 18 Feb 2012 21:45:09 +0000http://intlifepain.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/gratitude-when-youre-in-pain-youve-got-to-be-kidding/HealthSkills Blog: Or – introducing the “parent of all virtues” (Wood, Joseph & Linley, 2007). For some time now I’ve been exploring the contribution of positive psychology on wellbeing in people with chronic pain. Positive psychology is the ” scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to…]]>

Or – introducing the “parent of all virtues” (Wood, Joseph & Linley, 2007).

For some time now I’ve been exploring the contribution of positive psychology on wellbeing in people with chronic pain. Positive psychology is the ” scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive”. (Seligman, ND). It strikes me that in chronic pain management, we’ve responded to the issues raised by people who don’t “live well” with their pain, leaving the group of people who do cope well largely ignored. We have much to learn, I believe, from those who have faced their situation and either been stoic – or in a surprising number, grown from their experiences. Some excellent resources in the field of positive psychology in general can be found at The Positive Psychology Center and Authentic Happiness, and for Kiwi’s, the New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology.